Benjamin Carmine: A Hero
by xXArcaneH3R0
Summary: I'm not great with summaries, but this is my take on Ben Carmine's life as a Gear. Also, this is my first story, so if it sucks, please give constructive  not destructive  criticism. Thanks.


Looking out the side of the King Raven, I smiled. The sky was a clear blue, peaceful except for the repetitive _**Whump! Whump!**_ of the helicopter blades. In just a few moments, I'd be landing to join a squad of Gears and begin my career as a soldier. _Just like my brothers…_ Looking down, my smile faded. I could see the hospital in Jacinto, the soldiers rushing about, the injured Gears being wheeled about on gurneys. I felt myself grimace. _Who was it that once said 'War is hell'? Ah well. I'm not going to end up like that._ I grabbed my helmet and tugged it on, tightening my grip on my Lancer as the King Raven descended.

My helicopter landed and I grabbed my bag and my Lancer and, swinging my legs around, jumped out. My heavy boots hit the pavement with a _**Thud!**_ and I stretched. I instantly felt the heat of the sun warm my armor. I remembered who I was looking for. Hoffman had said to search for Sergeant Marcus Fenix of Delta Squad. I quickly scanned the area and saw the only Gear wearing a bandana a few yards in front of me. He was standing with a Hispanic-looking Gear and a beautiful blonde woman, all apparently conversing. I adjusted my grip on my bag and stuffed my Lancer under my arm, setting off to make their acquaintance.

"Sergeant Fenix?" I ventured, hoping I was right. I could hear myself echoing, and I mentally scowled, noticing the obvious note of nervousness in my voice. "Are you Sergeant Fenix? Delta Squad?" I asked more professionally, attempting to salute him when I felt my Lancer slip. The metallic _**clack clack **_of the steel hitting pavement made my face heat up with embarrassment. _Really professional, there, Benjamin. What would Anthony or Clay say? Ugh._ I instantly stooped to pick it up. Standing straight to face them, I felt grateful that my helmet hid my humiliation. "I'm your new trainee," I explained quickly to cover my screw up. The blonde woman – Anya Stroud, the intelligence from Control, as her nametag read – whispered something I couldn't catch. She then flashed a smile to the Gears and asked, "Time to train the Rook?" Sergeant Fenix grimaced and growled, "Yeah. Lucky me." Anya's soft voice, so polite, said, "Go easy on the kid, okay?" I felt a small pang of indignation, but rolled my eyes and smiled. Miss Anya turned to leave, forcing me to continue my rough introduction. "Private Ben Carmine, sir! Reporting for duty, sir!" I barely finished my last word before Sergeant Fenix cut in with, "Drop the sir shit, kid. We're not that polite out here. Come on, let's go..." His voice matched his appearance: gruff, hardened, a true soldier. Sergeant Fenix and his squad mate, I assumed, turn to walk away. I shouldered my weapon and began to follow. "Oh yeah," Sergeant Fenix threw back, inclining his head slightly, "Welcome to Delta." I grinned childishly. I was a part of Delta. I belonged somewhere. I was a soldier. Just like him. _I'll make you proud, Anthony…_

We walked in silence for a few minutes, my steps rhythmically attuned to those of the men preceding me. I lazily surveyed the area, taking in the crumbling architecture, the panicked Gears, the telltale damage and wear-and-tear of years of turmoil. Jacinto once was a beautiful city. Now, it was our last stronghold. The Locust hadn't managed to take over Jacinto yet, but the threat alone was enough to cause the COG to take precautionary countermeasures, which explained the makeshift barricades and incredible amounts of weapons and manpower littered all over the city. Thinking of the destruction made me think of Anthony, and my friends. To break the silence, I commented on my squad leader. "It's an honor to serve with you, sir! I heard that you're the one who-" **"Sergeant." **He interjected. His annoyance was clear, and as we continued down the cracked street, I realized it was something I'd have to get used to. Anthony and Clay would always tease me, saying I was too soft to be a soldier.

'_I could feel tears threatening to show themselves. I choked them back and scrambled to my feet. "Come on, _sis_. You'll never be a soldier at this rate!" Anthony laughed. Clay smirked and cracked his knuckles. Their idea of training me was attacking me and then double teaming me. I shook my head and took a breath. Anthony threw his pistol at me, and I caught it reflexively. "Shoot each of those bottles." "I know..." I grumbled, lining up my shot. Four bottles. I could do this, easily. __**Kshk.**__ "Ha!" I let myself grin smugly. Anthony just raised his eyebrow. I aimed at the next one, a glossy green one. __**Kshk.**__ "I'm two for two, Anthony. I'll be a better shot than you in no time." I jested. I narrowed my sights on the next one, a short, icy looking blue bottle. I inhaled and readied myself. Just as I pulled the trigger, a bullet whizzed by my head, a few inches away. I cried out and fired, the shot instantly disappearing into the darkness behind Anthony. Anthony and Clay laughed, grabbing the two remaining bottles and throwing them at the wall. "You cheated!" I shouted, clearly upset. "You'll be surrounded by gunfire, Ben. Are you going to cry to the Locusts, telling them they're cheating?" Clay stated flatly. "Well, I-" "Little Ben needs someone to tell him he did a good job, Clay." Anthony chided. "I'm going to be a damn good soldier! Just wait!" I shouted, turning to go home. I could hear their laughter fade as I walked away._

_I sat up on my bed, tousling my hair. A knock at the door. I sighed, staring at the door. Anthony let himself in. He was almost four years older than me, and yet we were practically the same height. I glanced at the window. I could vaguely make out the silhouette of the tree outside. It must've been three or four in the morning. "Hey..." Anthony hesitated, before sitting down next to me. "Hey." I said back, knowing he felt guilty but trying to remain stubborn. "Look, Ben..." he started again. I just stared at the floor hard. "Kid, we were just messing with you. We don't mean to hurt your feelings and we don't mean to hurt you, y'know? Clay and I... We don't want you going into this war thinking you're going to be coddled. We want to toughen you up so that you don't-" "I know, Anthony. So I don't 'snap' and start crying on the battlefield. Well, you don't have to. I'm a big boy now. I can handle it." I interrupted, my eyes locking with his before turning to the floor again. "Ben... I know you can handle it. That's not what I worry about. That's not what Clay worries about. We... We don't want to lose you, little bro. You're the best Carmine in the family. We want you to be prepared for the Locust. Or at least, as prepared as we can make you." I could hear the sorrow in his voice. Sighing, I looked up at him and grinned. "I should be worried about _you. _After all, I think it's safe to say I'm the better shot now." I boasted. Anthony smiled and put me in a headlock, ruffling my hair. I laughed and shoved him. "Now get out of my room." I smiled. He retreated to the hallway, closing my door and leaving me to think. "I won't die in this war. I'll last, and I'll be a hero. I promise." I closed my eyes and let my thoughts wander as I drifted into unconsciousness.' _

Hmph, I'd show them. "Yes sir, Sergeant Fenix!" I corrected. I turned to the other man, forgetting what I was going to say earlier. He seems like a friendly man. "Must be good to know you're fighting with a Pendulum War hero." In spite of myself, I felt my eyes widen slightly at the heroic status of my leader. The other guy gave a half smile. "He's just Marcus to me, man." He turned to me now. "Name's Dom, by the way." I grinned inwardly, glad to have found someone to befriend. A guy in basic had told us that all the higher-ups hated us rookies. "Good to meet you, sir- Uh, Dom." I caught my use of honorifics. It was going to be tough to treat these heroes as regular guys. "You see action in the war, too?" I inquired curiously. "Rook!" Sergeant Fenix cut me off, causing me to snap to attention. "We can talk history later! Concentrate on your training right now. I don't need you getting religious out there." My intelligence faltered, and I went blank. "Pardon..?" I questioned, confused. "Hole-y." Dom clarified. I rolled my eyes, laughing inwardly at the obviousness of the answer. "Oh. Right. Full of holes. Got it." Ha. Making jokes. We continued down this street a little way, coming to a stop at the end. Dumpsters and trash were strewn everywhere, giving the feeling of desolation. "First thing's first, Rook. Stay focused on your mission. Best way is to check your Tac/Com_ before_ the bullets fly," Sergeant Fenix instructed. "Mine says 'Teach the Rook the Golden Rule'." I brightened. "Oh, uh, I know: 'Do unto others, as you would have-'." "Not out here, kid," Sergeant Fenix cut in again. "Golden Rule of the Gears is, 'Take cover or die'. Y'know how to get into cover, Rook? Show me." I took a deep breath. I could redeem myself by doing this right. "Okay. Keep your head down, eyes open, check your surroundings..." I positioned myself skillfully behind the side of a dumpster. "Always keep your head down like that in a firefight and you'll be fine." Sergeant Fenix stated. I beamed. _Score one for Ben._

Their robotic companion, Jack, worked his magic before cloaking again and the gate next to the dumpster swung open. "Okay, people, let's move out." Sergeant Fenix commanded. Dom and I followed suit. "Yo, you said your name was Carmine? You got a brother was a Gear?" Dom asked. Excitedly, I responded, "Yeah, all four of us! Well… Three now... You know one of 'em?" "I served with Anthony, he was a great soldier. My respects." Dom seemed to muse. "Thanks. Just good to know he died a hero's death." I swelled with pride. "Uh, yeah... Right..." I pulled out my Lancer and shot a bottle perched atop a concrete wall. "Heh, shooting bottles reminds me of being a kid." I remarked. "Yeah? Enjoy that feeling while you can..." Sergeant Fenix retorted, pulling out his Lancer and firing blindly. "Pfft, helps if you aim, Marcus." Dom chided. "Doesn't help your odds of winning," Sergeant Fenix replied dryly, shooting his Lancer and shattering a bottle. "Come on, you can hit those in your sleep with a rifle. Use your pistol, man!" Dom challenged. Sergeant Fenix pulled out his standard issue pistol, expertly shooting three bottles in a row. "Better reload... Could be some more killer bottles up ahead." Dom joked. I shoved a dumpster out of the way, just in time to see something flash by in front of me. "What the hell was that?" I exclaimed, clutching my weapon tightly. "Probably just a stray dog..." Dom suggested. "No, no, it was bigger than that! It was like a weird, monkey dog thing." I explained, trying to recall details. "Wretch! Shoot it!" Sergeant Fenix shouted, firing his Lancer at a monkey dog thing in a window above us. It fled when it was shot at. "Hey! That's it! That's the monkey dog thing I saw!" I called. "You hit 'im?" Dom asked Sergeant Fenix. "Don't think so. Looks like he got away." Sergeant Fenix said. "You ever seen that before?" I asked incredulously. "Yeah, but they usually travel in packs. All right, stay close and use cover. The other ones are probably around here somewhere." Sergeant Fenix and Dom climbed over a small slab of concrete. I copied their movements, swinging myself over the small makeshift cover. "Nice mantle, Rook. Not an easy maneuver to make in full gear." Sergeant Fenix commented. I smiled.

Nothin' here. Maybe they're in the alley." Sergeant Fenix suggested. "Let's check it out," Dom said. Sergeant Fenix kicked open a gate into a small, blacktop area. "Grab some of those grenades. I have a feeling we're gonna need 'em." I stooped to pick up a couple of the chained frag grenades littering the ground. "Damn! Someone needs to do an ammo sweep around here," Dom exclaimed. "Wretch!" Sergeant Fenix shouted again, pointing towards a parking garage area in front of us. "What'd you call that thing, a monkey dog? Ha. I got a special bone for it." Sergeant Fenix swung the grenade in a large circular motion before lobbing it into the second story opening where the wretch had passed. A large explosion accompanied by chunks of debris flying everywhere told us the wretch was dead. "Whoa! Awesome!" I complimented. Just then, I saw a head of another Wretch close in front of us. _My turn to be the hero._ "Wait, there's another one!" I swung my own grenade just as Sergeant Fenix had, preparing to throw mine. Just as I slung my arm to toss it, I felt the grenade slip. "Uh-oh! Watch out!" I screamed, but it was a little late. My grenade detonated not too far away. I fell to the ground from the blast, feeling the larger hot shrapnel bits burn through my armor and sear my skin. The pain was there, but nothing I couldn't get over. I felt a strong hand grip my arms and yank me, none too carefully, to my feet. Sergeant Fenix. I saw that he had been far enough away to avoid the blast. "Pull that shit again, Rook, and you're gonna get some unexpected chainsaw training! Let's get in there!" Sergeant Fenix growled fiercely. I internally berated myself and shook my head. "Fire up your Lancers, Delta!" I grabbed my Lancer and pushed a switch, bringing to life the roar of the chainsaw. I pushed its rotating teeth into a nearby wooden desk, feeling the bite of the chainsaw as it gnawed into the wood, sending little slivers flying everywhere. I think I yelled. Hard to tell, the sound drowned out by the chainsaw. I glanced up and saw Sergeant Fenix doing the same to a group of wooden planks. We took the newly cleared path our squad leader had just demolished up to the parking garage. "Almost looks peaceful from up here..." Dom noted. "Almost." Sergeant Fenix repeated. "Whoa!" I marveled, looking around at the destruction. "All this damage came from your grenade?" "Sure as hell didn't come from yours..." Sergeant Fenix clipped. "Nothin' up here, just some rats. Let's head back to the hospital." Sergeant Fenix found a ladder close by and swung down it, his feet not even touching the rungs. Dom followed suit, and I did as well. Our boots hit the ground with a crunch, and I looked up to the sunlight.


End file.
